Reprinted from the May, 2009, HealthyPetNet newsletter:

The splendor of summer is right around the bend.  We are approaching the season when children, freed from studies, populate the neighborhood, friends and families hold cook-outs, and we find ourselves preoccupied with the health our pet’s coats.

There’s a reason for our annual fixation.  Dogs usually begin to lose their winter coats in early spring, when it is gradually replaced by a shorter, lighter coat suited to the summer months.  The amount of shedding varies widely from breed to breed.  For example, the pet parents of German Shepherds will groan about the amount of shedding all year long, while those of us with poodles rarely have to get out the broom or vacuum, even with the arrival of summer.

While we’ve seen that growth cycles can be affected by mood, hormones, and nutrition, changes primarily occur due to fluctuations in the amount of daylight and temperature.

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52. There are 703 breeds of purebred dogs
53. Dachshunds were originally bred for fighting badgers
54. The world’s smartest dogs are thought to be (1) the border collie, (2) the poodle, and (3) the golden retriever
55. … while the dumbest dog is believed to be the Afghan hound
56. A dog’s smell is more than 100,000 times stronger than that of a human’s
57. … which they need because their eyesight is not as keen as a human’s.
58. Dogs judge objects first by their movement, then by their brightness, and lastly by their shape
59. Chocolate contains a substance known as theobromine (similar to caffeine) which can kill dogs or at the very least make them violently ill
60. George Washington had thirty six dogs - all foxhounds - with one named Sweetlips
61. All dogs are identical in anatomy - 321 bones and 42 permanent teeth
62. Smaller breeds mature faster than larger breeds
63. Female dogs are only ready to mate - “in heat” - twice a year for a total of roughly 20 days
64. Puppies sleep ninety percent of the day for their first few weeks
65. Rin Tin Tin was the first Hollywood dog star
66. … and he really signed his movie contracts - all 22 of them - with a pawprint
67. The Wizard of Oz’s Toto was played by a female Cairn Terrier named Terry
68. Up until the late 1800’s, Collies were known as Scottish Sheepdogs
69. Dogs have two times as many muscles to move their ears as people
70. The longer a dog’s nose, the more effective it’s internal cooling system
71. An elderly woman was saved by her 12 pound Yorkshire Terrier who fought off an 80 pound Akita and survived with only 9 stitches
72. U.S. Customs dogs “Rocky” and “Barco” were so good at patrolling the border that Mexican drug lords put a $300,000 bounty on their heads
73. Dogs are all direct descendants of wolves
74. Wolves and dogs can mate to produce fertal offspring
75. Female wolves have been known to travel great distances to regurgitate full meals for their hungry pups
76. Cerberus was the tri-headed dog that guarded the underworld in Greek mythology

Today’s final fact: dogs love fresh, natural, Life’s Abundance dog foods from Wholesome Pet Supply.

As most of my regular readers know, Wholesome Pet Supply sells Life’s Abundance pet food. This all-natural, holistic food contains no chemicals or fillers and is shipped fresh to your door. The formulator of all Life’s Abundance pet foods is Dr. Jane Bicks, a world-renowned veterinarian.

Below is her message from the HealthyPetNet March Newsletter. Also, Dr. Jane has a weekly program where you can call in and ask her questions. You can be a part of the next Dr. Jane call. Calls with Dr. Jane are always informative and a lot of fun! To participate, simply dial 218-844-0860 at the appropriate time, and enter pass code 626116# after the prompt. The next “Ask Dr. Jane” call will be held on Wednesday, at 8:30 PM EDT.

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26. Female dogs bear their young for 60 days before they’re born
27. Dogs’ sense of hearing is more than ten times more acute than a human’s
28. Humans can detect sounds at 20,000 times per second, while dogs can sense frequencies of 30,000 times per second.
29. The earliest dog fossil dates back to nearly 10,000 B.C.
30. Bloodhounds are prized their ability to single out and identify a number of scents simultaneously
31. Dalmatian puppies are born completely white.
32. The Ancient Chinese carried Pekingese puppies in the sleeves of their robes
33. Boxers are so named because of their manner of playing with their front paws
34. All breeds of dog have been found to attack livestock - from 3 month old puppies, all the way up to thirteen year old poodles
35. A dog’s heart beats up to 120 times per minute, or 50% faster than the average human heartbeat of 80 times per minute
36. The oldest dog on record - a Queensland “Heeler” named Bluey - was 29 years, 5 months old
37. Davy Crockett had a dog named Sport
38. Dogs were first domesticated by cavemen
39. Dogs live 15 years on average
40. Many foot disorders inn dogs are simply an issue of long toenails
42. More than 5,000,000 puppies are born in the U.S. every year
42. More than 1 in 3 American families own a dog
43. Average body temperature for a dog is 101.2 degrees
44. The Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts both offer merit badges in dog care
45. Dogs are natural pack animals
46. They are naturally submissive to any creature with higher pack status - human or canine
47. Dogs instinctively require the pack leader’s approval
48. Dogs with little human contact in the first three months typically don’t make good pets
49. The Chihuahua was named after the state in Mexico where they were discovered
50. After birth, puppies’ eyes do not fully open until they’re about 12 days old
51. Their vision is not fully developed until after the 1st month

Don’t forget another important fact: dogs love  fresh, natural Life’s Abundance dog foods from Wholesome Pet Supply.

1. It is a myth that dogs are color blind. They can actually see in color, just not as
vividly as humans. It is akin to our vision at dusk.
2. Dogs DO have better low-light vision than humans because of a special light-
reflecting layer behind their retinas
3. A German Shepherd guide dog led her blind companion the entire 2100 mile Applachian Trail
4. If never spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate, and their puppies could
product over 66,000 dogs in 6 years!
5. Dogs’ only sweat glands are between their paw pads
6. Like human babies, Chihuahuas are born with a soft spot in their skull which closes
with age
7. The breed Lundehune has 6 toes and can close its ears
8. Teddy Roosevelt’s dog, Pete, ripped a French ambassador’s pants off at the White
House
9. President Lyndon Johnson had two beagles named Him and Her
10. Franklin Roosevelt spent $15,000 for a destroyer to pick up his Scottie in the
Aleutian Islands
11. In Roman times, mastiffs donned light armor and were sent after mounted knights
12. The Russians trained dogs during WWII to run suicide missions with mines strapped to their backs
13. A dog’s mouth exerts 150-200 pounds of pressure per square inch
14. … with some dogs exerting up to 450 pounds per squre inch.
15. A one year old dog is as mature, physically, as a 15 year old human
16. The U.S. has the highest dog population in the world
17. France has the 2nd highest
18. The average city dog lives 3 years longer than a country dog
19. 87% of dog owners say their dog curls up beside them or at their feet while they
watch T.V.
20. Dogs can be trained to detect epileptic seizures
21. 15 people die in the U.S. every year from dog bites
22. In 2002 alone, more people in the U.S. were killed by dogs than by sharks in the
past 100 years
23. Gidget is the name of the Taco Bell dog
24. Newfoundlands are great swimmers because of their webbed feet
25. Basset Hounds cannot swim

Another fact about dogs is that they love  fresh, natural Life’s Abundance dog foods from Wholesome Pet Supply.

A new study reveals which U.S. cities are top dogs when it comes to pet health.

The study, conducted by the Purina Pet Institute, ranked those cities that exemplify superior care, services and legislation for pets’ health and well-being. It analyzed 30 different criteria ranging from veterinarian-to-pet ratios to incidence of obesity to rabies legislation. The top five Pet Healthiest Cities are:

1. Denver, Colo.
2. Oakland, Calif.
3. Portland, Ore.
4. Anaheim, Calif.
5. San Francisco, Calif.

“This is the only comprehensive evaluation of factors that impact pets’ health and affect their quality of life,” said Dan Christian, DVM, executive director of the Purina Pet Institute.

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• Many experts report that cats will purr when feeling any intense emotion (pleasure or pain).
• Give your cat fresh water at least once a day.  If your cat refuses your tap water, it may be sensing (with it’s superior sense of smell) the chlorine or other minerals in your water.  Many finicky felines demand bottled water, just like their human counterparts.
• Don’t put your cat on an all-vegetarian diet.  Cats need protein to survive.
• Never feed your cat dog food.   Cats need five times more protein than dogs do.
• If your cat misses one meal, a trip to the vet may be necessary.
• Cats are the sleepiest of all mammals.   They spend 16 hours of each day sleeping.  With that in mind, a seven year old cat has only been awake for two years of its life!
• Cats are more active during the evening hours.
• Cats spend 30% of their waking hours grooming themselves.
• 95% of all cat owners admit they talk to their cats.
• Backward-pointing spikes on a cat’s tongue aid in their grooming.
• The average cat weighs 12 pounds.
• If you can’t feel your cat’s ribs, she’s too heavy.
• If an overweight cat’s “sides” stick out further than her whiskers, she will lose her sense of perception and stability.  Don’t be surprised if she starts to squeeze into an opening that the rest of her can’t fit into, only to back herself back out quickly!
• According to the Guiness Book of World Records, the heaviest cat on record was Himmy, an Australian cat, who weighed 46 pounds, 15.25 ounces in 1986.  Himmy’s waist was 33 inches!  The previous record-holder had been Spice, a ginger-and-white tom cat from Connecticut, who weighed 43 pounds when he died in 1977.
• The tiniest cat on record was Tinker Toy from Illinois.  A male Himalayan-Persian, he weighed 1 pound, 8 ounces fully grown and was 7.25″ long and 2.75″ tall!
• Your cat is probably either a “righty” or a “lefty.”  Only 40% of cats are ambidextrous while another 40% are either right-pawed or left-pawed.
• Cats love high places.  They share this love with leopards and jaguars, who sleep in trees.  If a cat begins to fall, his inner ear canal (which controls balance) will help him right himself and land on his feet.
• Domestic cats are essentially loners.   When placed in a group, they develop their own hierarchy.  As long as there is plenty of food on hand, a cat can learn to share it’s domain with other cats.
• Cats are more aggressive when they are not neutered or spayed.

And don’t forget, the most important piece of knowledge to retain is that the very best food available for your cat is Life’s Abundance from Wholesome Pet Supply.

Indoor Plumbing

It wasn’t until after Word War II that cats became popular house pets. Before then they lived mostly outdoors. One reason for the change has been attributed to Edward Lowe of Cassopolis, Michigan, who introduced the convenient pellets known as kitty litter in 1947.

Right or Left?

Cats have a tendency to be southpaws, leading more often with the left paw than the right. This fact wqas discovered after patient observation by Professor J. Cole of Oxford University.

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By following some simple tips, you can ensure a trouble-free holiday season for you and your pets.

There are some things from which you should shield your pets during the festive months.

Some common holiday plants are toxic to cats and dogs.  Don’t keep holly, poinsettias, lilies or mistletoe on or near the floor, where pets have easy access to them.

If you have a live tree in your home, don’t let pine needles accumulate on the floor, as these needles can perforate the intestinal lining of dogs and cats.  Additionally, trees should be tethered to a wall or the ceiling to prevent them from falling on pets.

Don’t leave unfamiliar extension cords fully exposed, as these can resemble chew toys, which could result in serious injury to your dog.  Never leave lights plugged in when you are not at home.

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The cool winds of winter are already blowing through the nation.  Some states are experiencing sooner and greater than expected snowfalls.  So, what can you do to make sure your companion animals are prepared for the coming months?  Here are just a handful of helpful tips …

If your companion animal is older and arthritic, be sure not to leave her or him outside too long.  Just as with humans, colder temperatures can make arthritic joints stiff and painful.

Dogs that tend to walk on sidewalks and streets should have their paws cleaned upon re-entering the home.  Ice, rock salt and other chemicals can collect in their pads and cause irritation.

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